The Eggheads have little gaps in their knowledge like wormholes in space...
AS THE HIT QUIZ RETURNS TO OUR SCREENS FOR A 23RD SERIES, DANIELLE DE WOLFE GETS TIPS FROM PRESENTER JEREMY VINE ON HOW TO BEAT THE SHOW’S ALL-KNOWING EXPERTS
EGGHEADS epitomises the British love of an underdog and is arguably the pinnacle of the television quizzing ladder.
It’s a simple yet enthralling concept, pitting members of the public against professional quizzers in a bid to win a rolling jackpot.
Now entering its 23rd series, the show continues to break all manner of viewing figure records – despite a year’s hiatus and a move from BBC2 to Channel 5.
And with presenter and BBC Radio 2 host Jeremy Vine back at the helm, it’s sure to be an entertaining ride – quite literally, given the broadcaster’s love of pennyfarthing bicycles.
With a number of celebrity episodes preceding the main series – guests include politician Caroline Flint, comedian Joe Pasquale, and ex-EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson – we sat down with 56-year-old Jeremy to discover more about the show, how to beat the quizzers, and life on two wheels.
Are you starting to feel at home at Channel 5?
Oh, hugely. Don’t get me wrong, we love the BBC – the BBC was lovely to us, but then it just took its eye off us slightly and we couldn’t work out why. All the Eggheads and the viewers weren’t sure what was going on. And then we were just embraced by Channel 5 in the most beautiful way.
Where does filming take place these days?
We’re now at what was BBC Television Centre, bizarrely where I used to do Newsnight. They sold the building off and it’s now become studios again, so nothing’s changed. There’s so much history...
One of the highlights was when it was invaded by anti-vaxxers who thought the BBC still owned it. I think it’s a shame it was sold, but there we go, such is life – I sound like an old duffer.
Why are we obsessed with quizzes?
It’s a very British thing to want to know stuff. Americans want to drive a fancy car and Brits want to know the year of the Battle of Waterloo – it’s a different prestige status. It’s being the person who knows everything.
Then, additionally, there’s the fascination. Kevin Ashman – who’s probably the most knowledgeable person in the English-speaking world, he’s the equivalent in America [of ] driving a Maserati. People are really fascinated by ‘What is it that makes him so powerful?’
Have you figured out the Eggheads’ weaknesses yet?
With the Eggheads, strangely, the one area of weakness they have is newspaper editors. I can’t understand why. The all-knowing Eggheads have little gaps that are like wormholes in space – you go into one, and it’s gigantic, and you can suddenly find something they don’t know that everyone else knows.
So it’s all about finding their blind spots?
If you ever watch, you’ll find that Kevin’s is food and drink. So, famously, his house is full of books and he started keeping them in his oven. He stopped cooking. He doesn’t know anything about food.
He says ‘No, on my oven, not in my oven’ and I say ‘It’s the same thing, Kevin, it’s the same thing’.
Anyway, if you’re ever on the show, that’s my tip. It’s go early for Kevin and hit him on food and drink.
Would you ever fancy yourself as a contestant?
I’ve asked 41,000 questions now and I think I’ve remembered maybe 200 of the answers, so I’ve been doing pretty well.
I did have this thing where I said ‘Look, is there any way that you can make the answer on the card really subtle, so I could play as well?’. So they put a little full stop after the correct answer so I could obscure it. And then this series – I must actually tell the producers, but they put the answer in bold, so it completely ruined my game. I can’t play anymore.
Any tips for improving our quizzing skills?
The quizzers say the first thing you need is the stuff that doesn’t change. So the first thing they do is the kings and queens, that’s absolutely a given. The second thing is flags, currencies, capitals. Then the really interesting one is mythology.
Incredible numbers of questions are ‘Who was Zeus’s eldest son?’ and all that stuff.
Geography is massive as well. ‘What ocean is Vanuatu in?’ – the answer is the Pacific Ocean. I’ve realised that, if you’re in doubt, just say the Pacific, that’s the tactic.
You’re known for riding your penny-farthing. what was it that first appealed to you?
When you get to 56 you think ‘God, I’ve got to try something new!’ Also, I’d had this experience about five years ago where I’d been sitting at a cafe on the Chiswick High Road and a guy had drifted past on a pennyfarthing. Everyone was just laughing. And I thought ‘I’d love to do that!’
It certainly makes you stand out from the crowd...
I had a friend in South Africa who said she got a text from somebody who lives in my area. The text said ‘WTF is going on? Jeremy Vine’s head just floated past my bedroom window!’ So my friend in South Africa said ‘Ah, that’ll be because he’s just bought himself a pennyfarthing.’
Do you feel safe cycling in London?
My theory is it’s safer because car drivers are really scared of it. It also kind of puts them in a good mood. So they slow down and take their time, they look at it and give you a wide berth.
It’s much safer than cycling on a normal bicycle – as long as you don’t fall off.
Eggheads returns to Channel 5 at 6.30pm on weekdays